Bobcats Fire On All Cylinders, Crush #12 Northwestern in NCAA Regional

The word is being spread all over the country on ESPN, message boards and by word of mouth: Texas State didn't just upset the 12th-seeded Northwestern Wildcats in the NCAA Softball Tournament, they obliterated them. An 8-0 run-rule decision in 5 innings by the Bobcats over the Wildcats in the Waco Regional at Baylor University has suddenly propelled this team into the national spotlight, raising the eyebrows of many national analysts who deemed this regional the toughest in the country. Despite all that, Texas State players will tell you that they expected to win this game from the start, and their confidence shone through on the diamond today.

So what made what some billed as a potential slugfest and what others predicted as a pitcher's duel turn into a run-rule laugher? The deciding variable can be described in one word: Execution. Texas State had it when things mattered the most, while Northwestern did not. A healthy dose of dominant Texas State pitching and defense stifled a normally explosive Northwestern lineup, while crisp base-running and timely hitting got the job done on offense despite only having four hits and leaving 9 runners on base on the day. Meanwhile, bad pitching and shockingly wobbly fielding by the players from Chicago brought home a flood of Texas State runs and frustrated the Northwestern players. The end result was the first run-rule decision by a Southland Conference team over an opponent in any NCAA Softball Tournament in history.

Northwestern starting pitcher Lauren Delaney (29-11 overall) walked a batter to start off every single inning, and ended up with 11 walks overall. Her first tendency was to try to get the Texas State batters to chase on high, inaccurate riser pitches, which was initially successful until Coach Woodard got her players to patiently wait and watch ball after ball be thrown. She then looked for something, anything that would work, and the only reward she got was a Bobcat explosion in the 4th inning as Texas State put up a 6-spot on a combination of solid hitting and poor fielding by catcher Erin Dyer as her two errors brought a couple of runs home.

Texas State starting pitcher Chandler Hall, meanwhile, looked back to her old self after a shaky yet impressive performance at the SLC tournament. A seemingly time-stopping change-up turned the heads of just about everyone watching, while her blazing fastball caught some of the Wildcat players off guard. The victory improves her already impressive overall record to 25-9 and drops her ERA to a mind-blowing 0.98 mark.

Watching Hall turn in such a dominant performance with a one-hitter at an NCAA Regional against a nationally ranked team was the stuff of legend. However, it wasn't just the one-hitter that got the sizable contingent of maroon and gold in the stands on their feet early and often. Fans were treated to a diving catch by Ryan Kos in the top of the 5th in addition to split-second plays at the plate in the 1st and 4th innings that showcased the Bobcats' base-running skills and kept the innings alive.

Texas State improves to 40-16 and will continue their magical run tomorrow at 1:30 pm against host Baylor, who scraped through with a controversial late-inning 2-1 win over the #25 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns earlier this evening. The Bobcats already notched a 2-0 victory in Waco over the Bears in the regular season, and since this Texas State team knows that they can consistently beat Big 12 squads their confidence should be riding high. You can listen to the Cats attempt to make it two in a row against their in-state foes on 89.9 KTSW, ktsw.net as well as txstatebobcats.com.

- Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor